“To the two greatest men of South America—General San Martin and myself.”
San Martin then proposed another:—
“To the speedy conclusion of the war; to the organization of the different Republics of the Continent; and to the health of the Liberator of Columbia;” words that indicated the thoughts which occupied his mind.
They then passed to the ball-room, where Bolívar gave himself up with juvenile ardour to the delights of the waltz, of which he was passionately fond. The rude behaviour of the Columbian officers, who were roughly reproved by Bolívar, gave a grotesque aspect to the scene. San Martin looked coldly on, evidently pre-occupied with thoughts of a much more serious nature. At one A.M. he called his aide-de-camp, Guido, to him, and said:—
“Let us go; I cannot stand this riot.”
Bolívar had already taken leave of him; a chamberlain showed them out by a private door, and accompanied them to the landing place. An hour afterwards the Macedonia was under way.
The next day San Martin rose early and was silent and pre-occupied. After breakfast, as he was walking the deck, he exclaimed:—
“The Liberator has been too quick for us.”
On reaching Callao he commissioned General Cruz to write to O’Higgins:—
“The Liberator is not the man we took him to be;” words which are a compendium of the results of the interview. Of what passed between them no account was published, but at that time there were only two questions which could be discussed between them: the conclusion of the war, and the political organization of the new States.